A Race Against Time
by CrimsonTears57
Summary: Itachi used to be best friends with Kaido. But one day she moves away without saying goodbye. Twelve years later they meet again. Full summary inside.
1. The Past

**Title-**A Race Against Time

**Rating-**PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

**Disclaimer-**Naruto does not belong to me

**Summary-**Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

**AN-**Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

* * *

**^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^**  
**The Past**

"Ha! You're not an Uchiha! You can't even activate your sharingan," a boy teased a young girl before him. The little girl sat under the cover of a tree's shade.

She looked up from her notebook she had been writing in to confront the boy before her. "As I told you before I don't have a the same kind of sharingan you do. Because I'm a distant relative, my eyes are different too."

The boy scoffed, crossing his arms. "Well then, how come you never show your "sharingan"?" he asked in a mocking voice.

"Because it is always activated. Now, will you please leave me alone?" she said turning her attention back to her notebook. This irritated the boy because he didn't feel as though she took him as a threat. So he snatched the notebook away from her. "Hey! Give that back!"

He flipped through the pages, which were filled with notes ad drawings of different things. "Oh? What's this? Little Kaido has a diary?" He read an entry out loud, "'April 1st. Today is my birthday and Mother died from the illness she had been suffering over the last few months. Tonight I cried by her side and didn't get any sleep. My cheeks are stained with the blood she had coughed up just before she took her last breath.'"

"Stop!" Kaido screamed desperately trying to get her personal belonging back from the foul boy. "Give it back to me!"

Again he flipped through the pages. "'December 25th. Kiyoshi died this morning. He had been suffering the same sickness Mother had been. Why do the people I love always die? And why must it always be on days that are meant to be filled with joy and not tears? Just before Niisan died he gave me a necklace with a jewel on the end. He said that when I am lost, it would always light the way home.' Ha! Is there where you write all of your little feelings?" The boy teased Kaido by waving the notebook around in her face.

"Inari! What are you doing?" a voice rang out.

The two children looked to whom the voice belonged to and saw Itachi, the Uchiha clan's prodigy. "Itachi," Inari gasped, letting go of the notebook in his hands. Kaido, on the other hand, seized her notebook and backed away from the genius towards the tree she had been resting at.

"Is that any way you should be treating our clan's newest member?" Itachi accusingly asked. He made his way over to Inari who was now looking at the ground, ashamed of his actions.

"No," he simply answered.

"Then I believe you should apologize to Kaido." The boy turned to Kaido and said sorry before scurrying off somewhere. After the boy was long gone, Itachi knelt in front of Kaido and smiled. "I'm Uchiha Itachi."

"Yeah. I know who you are. What do you want? To pick on me? To tell me that I don't belong here just like everyone has?" She sighed before looking down. "They're right anyways. I don't belong here. I'm just different."

Itachi grinned and lifted her chin. He titled his head a little. "Well… I like different." Kaido smiled back at him. He looked at her eyes, which were a conglomeration of many different colors. The more he looked, the more he liked her.

From then on they were the best of friends. A little while later Itachi had a baby brother, Sasuke.

XoXoX

"Father! I'm going to go play with Itachi," Kaido yelled.

But just before she could run out of the house her father grabbed her arm and pulled her back in. "No. It's time to take your medicine," he told her handing her a vial filled with a disgusting looking substance that was the color of pee.

She groaned. "Do I have to take it?" she whined.

"Yes. Now here," he handed her the small glass container. Before drinking it she held her breath and shut her eyes tightly. As the liquid went down her throat it left a nasty taste behind along with a burning sensation.

She stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Okay. Can I play with Itachi now?"

"Okay. But no rough housing. You know you feel faint after a dosage of your medicine!" But Kaido was already far off.

When she reached Itachi's house she politely knocked on the door, which was immediately opened. "Hey Ita-" Kaido began but Itachi interrupted her.

"Kaido! Just the person I need," he sighed in relief as he yanked her inside his home.

As he quickly pulled her arm she asked, "Whoa, weasel. Where's the fire?"

At the mention of his nickname he smiled to himself. "I'm babysitting Sasuke and he just won't stop crying."

"Okay… where do I come in?"

"Well, because you were able to stop him last time I thought you would be able to again," he explained. Now they were inside his baby brother's room. Sasuke was in his crib wailing his little head off. He was crying so much that the blankets surrounding him were soaked in his tears.

Kaido picked him up gently. "My goodness, Itachi. How long has he been crying?"

"Ever since he woke up this morning. I've tried everything from feeding him to singing for him," he said. He took a seat on a rocking chair that was placed in a corner in the room, letting out a stress filled sigh.

She cradled him in her arms while quietly singing a little song. Unconsciously she swayed from side to side. Soon Sasuke was playing with the stone on her necklace, which shined brightly, and laughing joyously. "Did you try changing his diaper? He's soaked," Kaido said.

"Oh. Well… I hadn't thought about that," Itachi mumbled.

Kaido laughed quietly. "Will you get me a diaper then?"

"Of course!" Itachi exclaimed standing up and running out of the room. When he returned he saw Kaido on the floor rubbing her eyes, blood dripping from her hands. "Kaido? Are you all right?" He walked over to her and pried her hands away from her eyes. They were bloodshot, tears of blood trailing down her cheeks.

"It hurts, Itachi," she cried. Itachi pulled her up from the floor and led Kaido towards the door. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the Uchiha clan's personal hospital," he informed her.

Instantly she began to tug away from him. "No! My father told me to go to him when things like this happened!" she screamed, "He'll get mad!"

"Fine. I'll take you to your father, but you must stop rubbing your eyes," he warned her. Again he pried her hands away from her eyes.

"But they hurt so much Itachi," she said trying to look at him. Everything was blurry and she could only faintly see Itachi's fuzzy outline.

He squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Everything is going to be okay, Kaido." He then led her back home where her father took her in and wouldn't let Itachi inside.

After a while Yukio, Kaido's father, successfully healed her eyes. "I told you no rough housing, Kaido!" he scolded her.

"But we didn't fight, Father. Itachi's brother as crying so I helped him out. And then my eyes began to hurt so I rubbed them," she explained. At the moment, she was lying down on her bed, all tucked in and ready for bed. "Can Itachi come in now?"

"No. You have to get some rest. Tomorrow we will be moving to the Land of Rice Patties," Yukio told her as he walked out of her room.

This took Kaido by surprise and all she could say was, "What? Why?"

"Because. There I will have the appropriate equipment in which I need to treat you with," he said.

"Well can I at least tell Itachi where we'll be going?"

"I'll tell him for you. We're leaving very early tomorrow," he walked out of her room, "Now go to sleep." If Kaido could see the look on her father's face at that exact second then she would know that something as terribly wrong. She'd be able to tell that he was lying to her. But she didn't so she couldn't have possibly known anything.

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**There's chapter one! I plan to update every Sunday so make sure to check next week! And if you like my writing go check out some of my other stories! I appreciate every review and reply to almost every single one so if you have a question go ahead and ask away! Thanks for reading and come back next week for the second chapter.**

**eMiKo-ChAn ^/-\^ (/.0)**


	2. The Girl in the Black Cloak

**Title-**A Race Against Time

**Rating-**PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

**Disclaimer-**Naruto does not belong to me

**Summary-**Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

**AN-**Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

* * *

**^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^  
The Girl in the Black Cloak**

It had been twelve years since Kaido's last encounter with her best friend Uchiha Itachi. Now she was twenty-two years old and walking down a deserted path somewhere in the woods, her long black cloak swaying in the light breeze. She had the hood up so her face was entirely concealed.

"Okay. The Akatsuki hideout should be close by," Kaido muttered to herself. Then the yellowish gem hanging around her neck glowed brightly. "Huh. You haven't shined in a long time. I must be close to Itachi."

Little did she know that he was so much closer than she had thought. He was actually right above her, watching as she walked along the dirt path full of crumpled autumn leaves. "Hey, Itachi. Want me to grab her?" Kisame, Itachi's partner in the Akatsuki, asked.

"No. Leave her alone," he replied. But then he heard Kaido mumble, "Where are you, you little weasel?" Almost instantly memories of his childhood flooded his mind as he recalled that nickname Kaido had called him so many years ago. "On the other hand. Get her."

"Whatever you say, Itachi," Kisame said, jumping down off the branch he was standing on.

As she walked, Kaido walked with her head down, a bad habit of hers that she needed to get rid of. But then she bumped into something other than a tree. "Oh, I'm sorry," she began until she saw what the person she had bumped into was wearing. "You're from the Akatsuki, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. Are you going to do something about it?" Kisame challenged. He examined her from head to toe and thought she looked puny. That she wasn't even going to be a good fight.

Kaido knew she should have just ignored him, but she hated it when people thought they were better than her just because they were bigger and maybe a bit stronger than her. So she called upon her weapon. A cloud of black dust covered her right hand and when it disappeared it revealed a halberd, Kaido's personal weapon she called 'Gyakusatsu'. "Maybe," she said before swinging her weapon down on his face. Luckily Kisame had good reflexes and was able to quickly grab his sharkskin from his back to block her attack.

"Oh, so you're a feisty one," he chuckled. He swung Samehada so that Kaido flew into the air. But in midair she did a cartwheel and landed unsteadily on her two feet. "You're strong for such a small girl."

Kaido smirked. "Oh, trust me. I'm more than just strong," she performed some hand signs, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" A great mass of fire flew from her mouth and hurtled towards the shark-like man who dodged it. Though not just in time. Part of his cloak was incinerated to ashes.

"That's an Uchiha technique. Hey Itachi! Do you know this girl?" he questioned the Uchiha who jumped down from his branch.

At the mention of Itachi, Kaido's eyes went wide and she turned around. "Itachi," she gasped. He was _right in front of her_. So close she could feel his chakra overwhelming her as he released large amounts of it. "It's really you."

WHAM! Kisame hit Kaido square in the back causing her to fall to the ground unconscious, her halberd disappearing in a puff of black dust. "Never turn your back on the enemy. Don't they teach you that in Ninja Academy?" he snickered. "So, Itachi. Do you know this girl?"

"Her name is Tsukino Kaido. We used to be acquaintances," Itachi said, "Let's bring her back to the hideout."

"All righty." Kisame lifted the unconscious girl over his shoulder and walked back to the secret lair with Itachi.

XoXoX

"Wow. She's pretty," Tobi sighed, admiring the sleeping girl. Kisame had placed her on top of the only table they had in the Akatsuki and every member swarmed around it.

Once Itachi and Kisame arrived at the Akatsuki hideout, everyone crowded around them because they had a girl with them and because the Akatsuki was made up of only men, except for Konan who was already taken. So it was a pretty big occasion for them.

Her long curly brown hair was fanned out around her face causing it to stand out because she was so pale. She wore a light blue kimono-styled shirt with short sleeves that was held closed with a navy blue obi. Her pants ended just at her ankles and they were navy blue just like her obi.

"Man, Kisame! How hard did you hit her? You even left a nasty bruise," Deidara shouted jabbing his elbow into the blue man's stomach.

He rubbed his aching side. "I didn't think I hit her _that_ hard," he groaned. Even he was a little worried if he had left serious damage.

"Hey Itachi! What's her name again?" Hidan asked the Uchiha.

The only one who wasn't marveling over the young girl was Itachi who was sitting on the couch watching TV. He was desperately trying to block out all of the memories of his childhood with Kaido, but was failing miserably. "Tsukino Kaido! I've already said it about a million times," he yelled causing her to wake up.

Kaido moaned, scrunching her eyebrows together. Everyone fell silent and leaned in closer. Kaido blinked her eyes a few times to get used to the lighting before fully opening them. That's when she realized she was surrounded by seven S-ranked rogue ninjas who were all skilled in assassination. She let out a very high-pitched scream.

Every one of the men encircling her clamped their hands to their ears, one thought filling all of their minds. How in the world, could a girl scream that loud? It was a completely inhuman scream. It was so loud that it broke several dishes in the kitchen.

"Stop! Please stop!" Sasori shouted. Kaido stopped for only a second to catch her breath prior to letting out another ear-splitting scream.

Itachi just had about enough when he got up from his spot on the couch and made his way over to her. Now she was sitting up straight with her back towards the sharingan user. With great haste he removed his hands from his ears and covered her mouth. "I'd appreciate it if you'd not scream like that," he growled in her ear.

Kaido's eyes were wide with fear. The only reason she didn't bite the person covering her mouth was because she knew it was Itachi by the way he smelled. The sweet scent of flowers and forestry mixed into one. "Now I'm going to remove my hand from your mouth. Don't scream," he warned. Slowly he moved his hand away from her lips.

She let out a deep breath. "Where am I?"

"The Akatsuki hideout," Deidara said. He picked up a glass of water that was next to him. "Here."

She hesitated. "We're not trying to poison you," Hidan exclaimed, but with a kind voice.

Kaido looked at him and then took the water. Before drinking it she brought it up to her eyes and looked at it closely. It looked clean. She took a sip. It was clean. Feeling rather dehydrated at the moment she gulped down all of the water. "Haa," she sighed while putting the glass down. "Thank you. And, um, sorry for earlier. I panicked."

Tobi laughed. "That's all right! I'm Tobi." He held out his hand. Kaido shook it.

"I'm Deidara."

"Sasori."

"Kakazu."

Soon everyone was telling Kaido his name and having her shake his hand. For some reason she felt welcomed and happy even though she was with a bunch of rogue ninjas. "I'm Tsukino Kaido," she told them.

"We know. Itachi told us. He said you two used to be acquaintances," Kakazu said.

Kaido's heart fell when he said this. Acquaintances? She had always thought they were friends. "He said that?"

"Yeah. _Were_ you guys acquaintances?" Hidan questioned.

Kaido looked behind her at Itachi, sitting comfortably on the couch, and sighed. "I guess we were."

"Kaido! I really like your black cloak. It's pretty," Tobi said, swinging it around here and there.

Kaido chuckled at his childish behavior. "Thank you. I think it's very pretty too."

"What's with all the racket?" a deep voice inquired.

Kaido leaned over to Zetsu and whispered, "Who's that?"

"That's Pein. **He's the Leader**," Zetsu answered.

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**If you're reading this I'd like to say thanks! I'll be uploading ever Sunday as long as I remember and if I forget I'll probably upload it sometime that week. But anywho... hope you like it! And please REVIEW!**

**EmIkO-cHaN ^/-\^ (/.0)**


	3. Grocery Shopping

**Title-**A Race Against Time

**Rating-**PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

**Disclaimer-**Naruto does not belong to me

**Summary-**Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

**AN-**Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

* * *

**^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^  
Grocery Shopping**

"So you're Tsukino Kaido?" Pein asked. Kaido nodded.

After Pein had chided everyone for not getting him immediately after they found Kaido, he brought her to an empty room and began to interrogate her. Kaido, knowing who he was and how strong he was, answered every single question he shot at her without hesitation. "And why are you here?"

"I wanted to say goodbye to Itachi before I left," she replied.

"Where are you going?" At this questioned, Kaido giggled. "What's so funny?" Pein roared.

"Nothing. It's just that I'm not _going_ anywhere. You see, I'm going to die soon." There was no hint of fear in her voice as she said the last sentence. Simply a smile on her face that clearly stated she accepted her fate.

Pein looked down at the ground, though he didn't know what for. "Okay. You can stay here until you decide to leave. But no longer than a month. Is that okay with you?" he asked.

Kaido smiled and bowed politely. "Of course. That is plenty of time."

"Now come on. We must tell everyone else the news," Pein said with a smile. He rarely ever smiled, but when he did it was always for a good reason. But today he just felt like smiling.

He led her out of the dark room they were in and back into the living room where everyone waited anxiously for the decision the Leader made.

Tobi jumped up and down with anticipation. "So? So? Can she stay? Can she stay?"

"All right, all right. Calm down, Tobi," Pein demanded. "Kaido will be staying no longer then one month. Other than that, she may leave whenever she would like."

"Where's she going to sleep?" Deidara asked.

"She can bunk with me," Hidan suggested as he scooched closer to her ,suggestively wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Though no one noticed, Itachi sent a glare in his direction. If only looks could kill. "She won't be bunking with anyone. Kaido will be sleeping in the spare room," Pein told them.

"She can't sleep there," Itachi objected, "She's afraid of the dark."

She sent daggers his way with her eyes. "No I'm not!" Kaido shouted. "I overcame my fear of the darkness quite awhile ago, for your information. Plus, the room can't be that dark." She folded her arms as if that would officially prove her point.

Kakazu scoffed. "Are you kidding me? The room is pitch black during the day and pitcher than black during night."

Kaido felt a feeling of uncertainty wash over her as she bit her lip. But when she saw Itachi smirking at her all of her doubts evaporated into thin air. "I'll be fine," she reassured herself more than them. "As long as I have Gyakusatsu, I'll be fine."

"Gyakusatsu? Who's Gyakusatsu?" Sasori questioned a worried tone in his voice. Everyone else thought the same question. Was it her boyfriend? Even Itachi was slightly curious at learning if she had met someone over the years they had been separated.

Kaido felt the sudden change in the atmosphere and laughed at their reactions. "Gyakusatsu is my personal halberd," she told them.

"Oh. That thing you summoned when we fought?" Kisame asked. Kaido absentmindedly nodded looking around for something. The blue man saw this. "Looking for something?"

She looked at him with an embarrassed expression as her stomach let out a rather loud rumbling sound. "Huh, well. I haven't had anything to eat in a while… Got anything to munch on? I don't eat much."

Practically everyone laughed, except for Itachi and Pein because it was above them to laugh at such petty things. "We haven't got anything in the kitchen," Kakazu said.

"They only way you can get food in this place is if you buy your own food and hide it from everybody else or take everyone out to eat," Hidan explained.

Kaido pursed her lips slightly. "Oh, well, I haven't got enough money to buy everyone dinner. _But _if everyone pitches in I could get some ingredients to make something," she suggested, examining their faces for answers. With smiles on their faces they all nodded. Once all of them contributed, even Kakazu, which was always rare, Kaido ended up with 8450 yen to spend on groceries. "This should be enough," Kaido mumbled quickly going over the stuff she needed in her head.

"Kaido-san! Kaido-san! Can I go with you?" Tobi pleaded going up and down on his tiptoes.

She giggled. "Of course. I'd never think of leaving you behind, Tobi!"

"**Then can we come?**" Zetsu asked.

"Me too?" Deidara chimed in.

XoXoX

Kaido and the rest of the Akatsuki, including Pein and Itachi, walked down the aisles of the grocery store. Every time Kaido would put something in their cart Tobi would go, "Ohh. What's that for?" And then Kaido would give a whole explanation about what the piece of food was for and how it was going to effect the taste of the dish she was going to make.

"How do you know so much about food?" Sasori asked, the first thing he said since they entered the store.

Kaido placed yet another ingredient into the cart, calculating in her head the total of all of the things in the cart. "Oh. My mother used to teach me all about cooking before she passed away," she muttered, her mind in the world of food and delicacies.

Without a hint of remorse on his smooth puppet face, Sasori said, "Oh. I'm sorry for your loss."

"What loss?" Kaido asked trying to see which vegetables were better in taste.

This time Zetsu replied. "Well, didn't you just say that you lost your mother?"

She shook her head. "No. I said she passed away. I didn't lose her for I will never be able to find her again. Meaning she isn't lost," she outstretched her arm towards him, "Does this smell funny to you?"

"Um, no?" He sniffed it, but he couldn't tell if it smelled funny.

"All right! We have everything we need!" Kaido announced happily.

* * *

**Sorry for not updating yesterday! I was busying finishing up a project for school. But here's the chapter! Hope you like.**

**eMiKo-ChAn ^/-\^ (/.0)**


	4. Movie Night

**Title-**A Race Against Time

**Rating-**PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

**Disclaimer-**Naruto does not belong to me

**Summary-**Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

**AN-**Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

* * *

**^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^  
Movie Night**

Kaido had made an excellent meal for dinner that everyone loved and devoured all in one sitting. She was happy to see that they had never eaten such good before in their lives. Now that they were finished they planned to watch horror movies.

"But I don't like scary movies!" Tobi whined hiding behind the couch as the rest of the Akatsuki picked out a movie.

Kaido laughed as she knelt besides Tobi. "You can hold my hand if that'll make you feel better."

Tobi jumped up and down with excitement shouting, "I get to hold Kaido's hand! I get to hold Kaido's hand!" Everyone turned to him so they could glare at him. The only one who didn't look at him was Itachi who looked at Kaido smiling at Tobi. She hadn't changed a bit.

"I got it! Let's watch 'The Ninja of Gore'!" Hidan shouted holding the movie out for everyone to see. They all agreed saying that it was the most terrifying movie on the face of the planet. Then they all took their seats on the couch and floor.

Tobi sat next to Kaido so that he could hold her hand. Hidan sat on the other side of her. ignoring all of the glares that were sent his way he stretched his arms and let one fall onto Kaido's shoulders. Itachi saw this and stood up from his place on the floor. He walked over to Hidan and growled for him to move.

"What?" Hidan smirked. "Jealous?"

The Uchiha growled, his eyes turning red as he glowered at the Jashinist. "I said move."

Hidan whimpered praying Itachi would have mercy on him as he crawled onto the floor allowing Itachi to sit next to Kaido who happened to be completely oblivious to what just happened as she played with Tobi. "Wait. We need popcorn," Kaido declared.

She started to get up, but then Deidara hopped up from the floor and shouted, "It's okay! I'll get it. You just sit right there and enjoy the movie."

A little confused she sat back down as Zetsu played the movie. In just the beginning, which wasn't that scary, Tobi was cowering behind Kaido in fear screaming at the littlest things. "Are you sure you're okay, Tobi?" Kaido asked as she watched him quiver in fear.

Trying to show that he was strong, Tobi scoffed. "Yeah! Of course I am. This is nothing. Ahhhh!" He screamed as something jumped out at a character. Everyone laughed at him as he hid himself in his blanket.

Soon the movie began to reach its peak and everyone was getting scared. Kaido was even a little frightened. When something popped out of nowhere her hand instinctively reached for Itachi's. He looked at her with surprise and saw that her eyes were wide with fear. Secretly he smiled feeling happy that she still wanted to hold his hand. Gently he squeezed it as to reassure her.

Kaido could feel him squeeze and first looked at her hand in his before looking at his face. Itachi watched the movie with a straight face and Kaido smiled happy to know that he was still there for her. With just that little squeeze Kaido knew that he was still her friend that cared for her.

XoXoX

"Whoa! That was scary as hell!" Kisame declared as soon as the movie finished. He stood up from and cracked his back while stretching his aching muscles. "Whew! Sitting all that floor is hard work!" Everybody on the floor followed his movements groaning.

Deidara yawned. "Well. That's it for me. I'm hitting the sack."

"Yeah. Me too," Sasori mumbled heading for his room.

Hidan draped his arm around Kaido's shoulders. "Come on, Kaido. I'll show you to your room." Kaido smiled unsurely.

After watching that scary movie she was unsure whether or not she'd be able to sleep all alone in the spare room everyone said was pitch black. Itachi could see the worry on her face and nodded for her to go with Hidan. She saw him and obeyed hoping he knew what he was doing.

When they reached her room Kaido instantly understood why it was so dark. The room was located all the way at the back of the cave where absolutely no light could reach. "Here we are," Hidan announced opening the door to her room.

Kaido peered in and was instantly washed over with a wave of freezing air. She shivered. "Why is it so cold?"

"Kakazu didn't install heating here because it'd cost more money and we don't use it a lot," he explained. "Well. I'm going to bed now. If you need anything we all sleep done that way." He pointed the way they had come from and then walked away.

Kaido looked back into the room and bit her lip. Slowly she walked into it and tried to find the bed in the darkness. All of a sudden the door slammed shut so she couldn't see a thing. A wave of fear came over Kaido as she frantically turned her head this way and that. She slapped herself. "Pull yourself together! You can handle this. Just look for the bed."

She held her hands out and searched for the bed. As she walked she hit something hard that soon took the shape of a bed. She climbed onto it while wondering if this was how blind people felt. Always in the dark. Every minute of every single day. She covered herself in the sheets shivering in the cold.

Kaido couldn't fall asleep as her eyes darted everywhere just waiting for something to pounce out and eat her. Then the door to her room swung wide open. She yelped sitting straight up, holding the covers over her chest. "Who's there?"

She heard Itachi scoff. "I thought you had already overcome your fear of the dark."

"Itachi!" Kaido sighed in relief as she heard him walking over to her. He climbed into her bed and she moved to make more room for him. Without thinking she wrapped her arms around him. "I hate it here! Why is it so dark?"

Itachi just chuckled a thing foreign to the rest of the Akatsuki though a thing common for Kaido. "I told you you'd get scared."

Kaido didn't listen as she snuggled close to his warm body. Itachi wrapped his arms around her and held her close. In his warm embrace Kaido fell fast asleep. Itachi placed his hand over her chest and let it rise and fall along with her breathing. He remembered how they would sneak out as kids to gaze at the stars in the fields. She would always fall asleep before him and he'd just rest his hand right on her stomach so it would go up and down with her breathing.

They both slept happily in each other's arms.

* * *

**Hope you guys are still reading! I haven't been getting many reviews and they are very appreciated so please, please, PLEASE review! Thanks and enjoy!**

**EmIkO-cHaN ^/-\^ (/.0)**


	5. Breakfast with the Akatsuki

**Title-**A Race Against Time

**Rating-**PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

**Disclaimer-**Naruto does not belong to me

**Summary-**Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

**AN-**Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

* * *

**^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^  
Breakfast with the Akatsuki**

Kaido awoke to find that Itachi had already left. A small lamp had been placed at the door so she could easily walk to it. When she entered the hall the smell of something burning wafted down towards her. She walked to the source to find the whole Akatsuki in their small kitchen attempting to cook breakfast.

She watched as everything was in complete chaos. "The egg shells are supposed to be cooked with the eggs, right?" Kisame asked as he looked at the pan in his hands unsure if scrambled eggs were supposed to look like that.

"Are you sure you put two cups of oil on the pan to cook bacon?" Deidara shouted while dodging splatters of scorching oil that flew everywhere.

Hidan coughed, tons of flour filling the air. "I can't see a damn thing! Why is it so cloudy?"

Tobi laughed as he poured tons of flour and sugar into his pancake mix. "This is going to be so yummy!" he sang happily trying to stir it all together in a rather small bowl. Everything overflowed out of the bowl and onto the floor. Even Pein was helping out by trying to make oatmeal that was coming out extremely gooey and clumpy.

Kaido couldn't help herself and broke out laughing causing everyone to look her way. "What in the world are you guys doing?"

"Kaido!" Zetsu exclaimed popping up from the ground. "You're awake? **I thought Kakazu was suppose to make sure you were still sleeping.**"

Out of nowhere Kakazu ran into the kitchen. "Sorry. Fell asleep." Hidan smacked him on the back of the head.

Kaido just stood there. "What are guys doing?"

Tobi ran up to her and bounced up and down. "We're making you a surprise breakfast! Are you surprised?"

"Very. Though I'm not sure I want to eat any of this." Kaido looked around. "Why don't I make breakfast and you guys can pick out a movie to watch?" At first everyone wanted to finish what they were making. But the longer they stared at their concoctions the more they realized that they looked disgusting. So they soon all agreed and filed out of the kitchen.

Deidara pouted. "Man! We're horrible cooks!"

"I betcha I know what can cheer everyone up!" Kisame announced. They gathered around the living room. "I know something all of you don't!"

"What? That Sasori makes out with his puppets? We already know that," Deidara sighed plopping himself down on the couch.

"That was one time!" Sasori shouted standing up with his finger pointed at Deidara.

Kisame shook his head. "No, no, no. This is recent. Last night Itachi got of bed and went over to Kaido's room." The room filled with whistles and 'ohhh's. "Did you, you know, with Kaido?" Kisame questioned him wiggling his eyebrows.

Itachi glared at the blue man who shied away from him. "I told you she's afraid of the dark," he growled. "I went to her room so she would be able to sleep."

"By riding her to sleep," Hidan whispered Kakazu who smirked causing Itachi to get angered even more.

Tobi, who knew nothing of what they were talking about, asked, "You rode her like a horse Itachi?" Everyone burst into a fit of laughter. Tobi looked around. "What? What I'd say?"

Right when Kaido entered the room everybody shut up except for a few snickers here and there. "What's so funny?" she asked suspiciously as she placed plates full of steaming food onto the table.

They all gathered around it. "Wow," Pein said. "You finished quickly."

Kaido winked at him. "Trade secret." Itachi couldn't help but feel jealously wash over him.

Soon they were all feasting on scrumptious breakfast delicacies Kaido had whipped up for them. "So what was so secret that you guys shut your mouths up for when I came in?" Kaido asked as she ate some of the eggs she made.

Kisame smirked. "Nothing. Tobi here just said something funny." He used his fork to point at the masked man.

He looked at everyone still confused. "What did I say? I just asked Itachi if he rode-"

Zetsu immediately clamped his hand over Tobi's orange mask successfully shutting the naïve kid's mouth. "**If Itachi wrote a letter he said he would be writing**," he lied causing Tobi to shake his head. He tried to say something but it all came out unclear with Zetsu's hand smashing his face as his grip on his mask tightened.

"What are you guys doing?" a girl voice asked. A girl with blue hair and amber eyes and a piercing on her lower lip walked in.

"Konan! You haven't met Kaido, have you?" Hidan asked.

"No I haven't," she said. She walked over to her and held out her hand. "Konan. Nice to meet you Kaido."

She shook her hand with a kind smile on her face. "You too."

"She's Pein's whore," Hidan muttered before he realized what he had said.

Konan glared at him before he was swarmed by thousands of sheets of paper that gave him tons of paper cuts. He yelped as his body was covered with little cuts, which burned like hell. "That's what you get," Konan smirked.

Kisame, just for the heck of it, poured some salt onto one of his cuts. The Jashinist yelped in agony as his cuts began to burn even more. The shark-like man simply giggled.

* * *

**I know I didn't update yesterday. I was really tired at the end of the day. We got new furniture and I had went to bed at 2 a.m. on Saturday and then woke up early on Sunday for church. So I was exhausted and then I had school today. Ugh! But I'm uploading two chapters today so hopefully that will make up for my slacking-off-ness. Hope you guys like it!**

**eMiKo-ChAn ^/-\^ (/.0)**


	6. What the Hell?

**Title-**A Race Against Time

**Rating-**PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

**Disclaimer-**Naruto does not belong to me

**Summary-**Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

**AN-**Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

* * *

**^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^  
What The Hell?**

"Hey. Where's Kaido?" Itachi asked the guys who were all sitting in the living room watching TV. It was now afternoon yet nobody had really forgotten what happened during breakfast with Itachi's little riding incident.

Kakazu shook his head. "The last time we saw her is when she asked where the bathroom was. That was about half an hour ago."

"What can a girl do for half an hour in the bathroom?" Deidara asked.

"Says the man who spends an hour in the bathroom fixing his hair," Sasori scoffed.

Itachi walked away from the living room and towards the bathroom. When he reached the bathroom he saw the tip of Kaido's foot just outside of the bathroom door. Slightly concerned he rushed over to the bathroom and saw Kaido sprawled out on the floor sweat beading on her forehead. "Kaido!" he shouted.

Everyone heard him and rushed over to the bathroom. "Kaido? What's wrong?" Tobi asked trying to peer over everyone who had blocked his view.

Itachi was now bent down next to her with his hand on her forehead. "She's burning up. Someone get me a cold towel."

Without hesitation Kisame grabbed a small hand towel from a rack and wet it with cold water before handing it to the Uchiha. "What happened? How long has she been here?"

The sharingan user placed the towel on Kaido's forehead. "I don't know. When I came here she was passed out on the floor," he answered. He activated his sharingan and saw that her chakra was all out of whack.

Then Pein came and made his way to the door of the bathroom. "Bring her to a room," he ordered.

XoXoX

"What in the world just happened?" Itachi questioned with a slight hint of anger in his voice.

Pein sighed. Kaido had been brought to Itachi's room and she was sleeping peacefully with a high fever. "I don't think I should tell you. Kaido should be the one to tell you about her sickness," he answered.

"What sickness!" Itachi paced back and forth in front of his room.

"Just calm down, Itachi," Kisame sighed leaning up against a wall. The rest of Akatsuki, except for Konan who had gone out for sake, gathered around just outside of both Kisame's and Itachi's room. "Her fever is going down so she should be waking up soon."

Itachi didn't stop pacing. "I can't just calm down. The girl I'd die for has some sickness that's killing her!"

"So you finally admit you love her?" Hidan smirked.

The Uchiha glared at the Jashinist though didn't deny it because he even knew the truth. He loved Kaido ever since he was a kid living with his deceased parents. The way she cared for other's rather than herself. The way her emerald eyes sparkled when she was happy. He even loved her when she was mad at him because he knew that it wouldn't last forever.

"Ugh," Kaido groaned from inside the room. Everyone immediately rushed into the room and crowded around her.

Itachi grabbed her hand, which was still a little hot. "Kaido? Are you okay?"

She slowly blinked her eyes opened. "Itachi?" she whispered.

He smiled at her. "I'm here."

Kaido sat up in bed and looked around to see everyone smiling at her and she couldn't help but feel as though she had a family again. But of course the good mood couldn't last for forever. "What happened, Kaido? Why did you faint? You were perfectly fine at breakfast."

She sighed. "Um… Bad eggs?" Itachi glared at her, not happy with her humorous attitude. Again she sighed. "Remember when my Father moved us to the Land of Rice Patties?" He nodded his head. "That was because he had the necessary tools to perform an… operation."

"Operation? For what?" Sasori now asked.

"My Father was obsessed with creating a human being made up of chakra. The perfect shinobi who would have an unlimited amount of chakra. Similar to a biiju for they had made up of raw chakra," Kaido explained. "First he tried doing it with my mother and brother."

"But they both died," Itachi whispered as he remembered when Kaido had told him about the two deaths when they were kids.

Kaido nodded. "When my Father tried to replace their blood with chakra they became sick because their bodies couldn't operate correctly without the necessary amount of blood. So when he used me he replaced my blood with chakra every once and awhile and used a medicine to try and keep me going.

"But the medicine was too weak and the chakra in my body soon started to destroy my blood cells. Because of his failure he became crazed and would not stop until he found a way to successfully replace blood with chakra. I knew that he wouldn't be able to do it unless he killed many more people so I… I…"

Tears formed in her green eyes as she remembered her father's dead body on the floor in a pool of blood that also covered her hands. Itachi squeezed her hand a little before she let out a deep breath and continued. "I killed him. But because he had never written the ingredients to the medicine I needed, the chakra in me began to destroy my blood cells even faster."

"So what'll happen once you have no more blood cells?" Zetsu asked.

She turned to him with a small smile on her face. "My body will deteriorate and I'll turn into nothing more but a mass of chakra that'll disappear into thin air."

Itachi squeezed her hand even tighter now. "I'm not going to let that happen. I know someone who might be able to create a medicine to help you."

Sasori looked at him. "Do you mean Tsunade? The greatest medicalnin? The Hokage of Konohagakure?"

"Do you really think she'll help us? S-ranked criminals?" Hidan scoffed.

Itachi shook his head. "It's the only way. She's the only one who can help us."

"Yeah! Help you get killed!" Kaido scoffed. "I'm not going to let you put all of your lives in jeopardy just for me. I've already accepted my fate."

"But I haven't. We'll leave today. Pack nothing but essentials," Itachi ordered. He turned to Pein. "Please let me do this."

Pein looked at the Uchiha, Kaido, and then back before he let out a sigh. "Kaido should only have about one day left. You'll need to hurry. Tell Tsunade that if she does this the Akatsuki will no longer hunt down Naruto. That it will be a sort of peace offering."

Kaido scoffed. "You can't do this! Like she'll ever accept a peace offering from Akatsuki! I know her. She won't listen."

"Exactly. She knows you," Itachi said. "You're a Konohagakure shinobi. She won't let you die."

Kaido tried to come up with a combat yet couldn't think of anything. Before leaving for Akatsuki she had asked Tsunade for permission so she hadn't betrayed the village or anything. He was right. She was very close to Tsunade and she doubted that Tsunade would just let her die if there was a way to help her. Even if the Akatsuki was with her.

* * *

**There you go. Two chapters like I promised. We're getting close to where all the action gets started. But just know that there is not a lot (if any) big fighting scenes and this story will be closing up soon. So I hope you guys like it!**

**EmIkO-cHaN ^/-\^ (/.0)**


	7. Is This Really Goodbye?

**Title-**A Race Against Time

**Rating-**PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

**Disclaimer-**Naruto does not belong to me

**Summary-**Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

**AN-**Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

* * *

**^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^  
Is This Really Goodbye?**

Tears of blood dripped down Kaido's cheeks as she once more looked back at the Akatsuki hideout. Even though she had just been with them for a few days she finally felt as though she had once again regained her family. She scolded herself for thinking such things. Forcing her legs, she jumped a few trees away from the hideout and continued on without looking back.

Before she had went she made herself promise with herself that she would _not _create any ties with anyone that would make it harder for her when she needed to go away. She knew that they were eventually going to find about her illness and she also knew that'd they suggest going to Tsunade, one of the three great Sannins.

Kaido wiped away the bloody tears from her face, the sickness beginning to take its course, and they were replaced with a look of determination. A small smile crossed her lips. "It's about time I see you guys… Mother and Brother."

XoXoX

The Akatsuki hideout was bustling with activity, as everyone helped get everything that was needed to take Kaido to Konohagakure. "All right. Have we got everything?" Itachi questioned as he looked over everything that was gathered.

Kisame placed a bag full of quick meals on the floor. "Yeah. I think we can go get Kaido now. She's still resting in our room."

Deidara jumped on his two feet. "I'll go!" He rushed out of the room and down the hall towards where Itachi and Kisame's room was located. The Uchiha watched him as he disappeared, praying to himself that Kaido would live for just one more day.

"So you guys packed the chocolate chips, right?" Tobi asked his eyes gleaming. "We can't go on a big adventure without chocolate chips!"

Itachi smacked him on the back of the head. "Kaido is very sick and you're worried about CHOCOLATE CHIPS?"

The childish Akatsuki member rubbed his sore head before mumbling to himself. "I'm worried about Kaido too. She'll want chocolate chips once she's all better, you know." He went and sat on a backpack patiently waiting for Itachi to return with Kaido.

The blonde came running into the room, his face plastered with worry and his breathing uneven. "Kaido is not in the room!"

Pein rose from his seat at the kitchen table. "What do you mean she's not there? We just checked on her to see if she was okay! Where could she have gone?"

"I saw some drops of blood on the windowsill," Deidara said trying to calm down the Leader. "Maybe she escaped out of the window right after we checked up on her?" He suggested. Pein glared at him causing Deidara to break into a cold sweat.

Itachi's face was grim as he looked out the window. "I know where she is going. To Konohagakure."

The only shark-related man in the Akatsuki turned his head to his partner. "What do you mean? Wouldn't she go somewhere else we wouldn't be able to find her?"

"No. She's going to go see her Mother and Brother."

XoXoX

The wind blew softly, washing over Kaido and causing her hair to blow in front of her. She let go of the flower petals she held in her hand resulting in them flying over the hill she sat atop and floating all the way to the bottom. Slowly her eyes closed as a serene smile covered her face.

"I've always imagined dying right here, with you guys," she whispered as she reopened her eyes and looked at the two small wooden crosses before her. "Mother, Brother."

Engraved in the wood were the names Anaya and Kiyoshi. Tears forming in her eyes, Kaido bowed before the crosses, soaking the dirt beneath her with her tears. "I wish I could've been there for you."

She remembered the day when she held her mother in her arms, trying her best not to cry as her mother spoke her last words. "Protect… your… br-brother," she had said right before she closed her eyes, going into an eternal sleep.

Back then her brother's words had confused her, but now she understood them completely. "Stop… stop h-him," he hastily whispered right before he turned into a mass of chakra. Kaido hadn't understood what he meant by that and what he expected her to do. Who was she suppose to stop? What was she supposed to stop him from doing? How was she supposed to stop him?

"Forgive me!" Kaido screamed at the top of her lungs, endless tears of both blood and salty water falling down her cheek. She hid her face in the ground weeping uncontrollably. "I couldn't stop him. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Kaido…" Itachi whispered, appearing from behind the forestry in which he concealed himself. With him came all of the Akatsuki, Team seven from Konohagakure, and Tsunade.

Kaido quickly wiped away her tears before any one of them could see. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?" She already knew the answer to this question. Of course Itachi would know that'd she go to the place she dedicated to her Mother and Brother when they died.

"Where else would you have gone?" Itachi asked.

She scoffed prior to rising from her spot on the ground and turning to look at them. The breath in her lungs was sucked out right when she saw Sasuke, completely grownup. The boy who she had practically helped raise. "Sasuke," she whispered.

He looked at her confused. "Do I know you?"

"I used to watch you when you were just a baby." She placed a gentle hand over his smooth cheek. "You've grown up so quickly."

Sasuke, not sure of what to do, just stood there looking into her jade eyes. The necklace around her neck began to glow a bright amber colour as a single tear fell from her eye. "Kaido," he whispered instantly remembering that necklace. When he'd dream at night he'd see that necklace before him glowing brightly. Without think he threw his arms around her. "I remember!"

Kaido held his head close to her chest rubbing it soothingly. "Of course you do. I'm family and you never forget family."

Itachi appeared behind Sasuke in a second and stared at Kaido with cold ebony eyes. "You left."

Breaking apart from Sasuke, she wiped the tears falling from her eyes. "It's funny, you know? Seeing you two together and not fighting. I was sure Sasuke was going to want to kill you the very second he'd lay eyes on you."

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. "Trust me, I would've. But Lady Tsunade ordered us not to attack because they had offered a peace offering."

"I see." Kaido chuckled at the young boy who glared at the ground. "If only we didn't have Hokages that prevented us from murdering our brothers, right?"

The young Uchiha couldn't help but smile at her statement. But then Itachi cut in. "We haven't much time," he said taking Kaido by the wrist. "You have to let Lady Tsunade look at you."

Kaido wrenched her hand away from him. "For the last time, I said no!"

Furious, Itachi whipped around and grabbed her by the neck, his grip like steel. She scratched at it to try and make him let go. "How many times do I have to tell you? I am not going to let you die!" The Uchiha roared at the top of his lungs.

Out of nowhere the little girl wriggling in his grip turned in a skilled kunoichi who flipped in the air and in the process kicked away his hand. She got in a fighting position, as did everyone behind Itachi. "I told you. I've accepted my death."

Now the rest of the Akatsuki stepped in. "But we haven't!" Deidara yelled.

"Yeah!" Tobi said. "You can't leave Kaido! Who's going to hold my hand when we watch scary movies?"

"Or cook us food?" Hidan chimed in.

"Or help us save money by buying groceries instead of fast food?" Kakazu said.

Kaido couldn't stand it. "Stop!" She screamed falling to the ground, tears of blood streaming down her cheeks. Memories of her mother and brother filled her mind. Their smiles and laughs and cries and encouraging words. Everything that made her love them. She clutched at her head in agony. "Stop it! Please stop!"

Everyone watched as the wind around her became condensed with chakra. Out of nowhere Kaido threw her head back in anguish and light blue chakra came out from her mouth and both eyes. "Kaido!" Itachi and almost everyone else cried out before running towards her.

Itachi knelt down by her side and held her in his arms yet her body felt light, as though it weren't there. Sasuke was right next to him, tears, something he hadn't experienced in a long time, flowing from his coal black eyes. "Lady Tsunade! Do something!"

The Hokage placed her hands that were glowing a light green on the young girl's chest, but it was like she had placed her arms over nothing. "I don't know what's going on," she said.

Kaido, on the other hand, felt as light as a feather. She raised her hand and placed it on Itachi's cheek. Her eyes trailed from him to his brother and back again. "I love you both," she whispered. "I can't believe this is actually goodbye."

Her hand fell from his cheek and she turned limp in his arms. "Kaido?" Itachi worriedly said. "Kaido! Kaido! You can't leave me again!"

Even though the Akatsuki were S-ranked rogue ninja and extremely bad criminals, they still had hearts and when they saw Kaido's eyes close and her body go limp they couldn't help but let at least let one tear slip from their eyes, eyes that had seen death over a thousand times.

* * *

**Ha! You thought I wouldn't update didn't you? Just because I updated late at night! Ha! Well I did so you lose. :D Anywho... only one more chapter to go so I might upload it in the middle of the week or something so keep an eye out for it. But after this story I don't know what I'm going to do! I'm still working on some other chapter stories of mine and I want to wait before uploading them so I can upload a chapter once a week. But I need more short stories to write. So if you have any ideas for me please tell me and I'll get straight to work on it! See ya and remember to REVIEW!**

**eMiKo-ChAn ^/-\^ (/.0)**


	8. Promise of a Lifetime

**Title-**A Race Against Time

**Rating-**PG For mild language, fighting, and some romantic stuff

**Disclaimer-**Naruto does not belong to me

**Summary-**Kaido (OC) used to be best friends with Uchiha Itachi when they were younger. But one day her suddenly moves away with her father without saying goodbye to Itachi. Twelve years later the Uchiha finds her looking for him. But where has she been for the past twelve years and what is she really hiding?

**AN-**Yes. Another story with an OC of mine. If you don't like it... TOO BAD! ^.^ Anywho... before you read you should probably know that Hidan is not a swearing machine and Tobi is not Madara but just sweet innocent Tobi. Also I know some things aren't true or whatever but I've altered it to fit with my story. So hope you like it and please R&R!

* * *

**^/-\^ A Race Against Time ^/-\^  
****Promise of a Lifetime**

The birds chirped outside of Kaido's room as she silently slept in her white hospital bed. Outside of her room Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki were sleeping on the waiting chairs. For an entire week they had stayed there at the hospital waiting for Kaido to wake from her deep slumber.

Every nurse and doctor looked at them with fear every time they passed the waiting area. Though sometimes they went out in the village looking around for something to do. It was weird for them to wander around aimlessly with nothing to do for they had always stayed in their cave hideout due to them being S-ranked criminals. But now everyone knew about the peace offering and how they couldn't harm anyone.

"Do you think she'll wake up, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked the Hokage, holding Tonton, the Hokage's pet pig, in her arms.

Tsunade sighed as she, for the hundredth time, looked over Kaido's medical papers. "I can't say. At the moment everything is fine. But sometimes, during the nights, her statistics will drop straight down. Right now it all depends on her will to survive."

"She won't die." Itachi said, startling only Shizune. He had appeared out of nowhere and she had thought he was still asleep. Yet Tsunade had known that he had been listening in on the entire conversation.

Again she sighed. "Right now all we can do is hope." Without saying a word Itachi walked into Kaido's room and sat next to her. "Come on, Shizune. We should prepare Kaido's daily dose of medicine." The two of them left the room quietly, leaving Itachi alone with Kaido.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. For a long time, Itachi hadn't cried. But now the tears fell down his cheeks like gushing rivers. "You can't go." He quietly cried into the sheets of Kaido's clean bed.

A gentle hand rested on Itachi's shoulders causing his head to jerk upwards. He turned to find Konan smiling down at him. Before the Akatsuki had left to Konohagakure they had left a note for Konan and she came right away. "You truly love her, don't you Itachi?"

He turned his eyes back to Kaido's sleeping form. "The first time I had met Kaido was when we were kids. Her family had come from a far away village and my parents had thrown a party for them when they first came. I remember seeing her in the backyard watching the stars calmly as everyone mingled inside. That was when I knew she was the one."

Konan pulled up a chair that was pushed against the wall and sat down next to Itachi. "When Pein and I were kids I was once kidnapped by some bandits for money. The only thing I remember when I was saved was seeing Pein full of rage giving no mercy to those who had hurt me. From then on he had never left my side."

"Pein's very protective of you, isn't he?" Itachi asked still holding onto Kaido's hand.

"Just the same as you with Kaido," she gently said. She placed her hand on his back. "She'll be okay. As long as you're here waiting for her, she'll be okay. I'm positive." With that last statement Konan rose from her seat and silently walked out of the room, leaving Itachi alone with his thoughts.

He closed his eyes and thought of every minute of his life that he had spent with Kaido. Swimming in the lake. Going to the hot springs. Sleeping under the stars. Everything drifted back to him easily and a small smile crossed his lips. "Come back to me," he whispered.

XoXoX

"It's time!" Deidara screamed at the top of his lungs. Before running out of the Akatsuki's hideout he grabbed a camera and Sasori by his wrist. "Come on everyone! We're going to miss it if we don't hurry!"

Tobi, who was in the kitchen licking some of the icing off of the cake, ran out before anyone could find him. "I'm coming!"

"Hidan do you have the streamers?" Kakazu asked while he picked up the cake Tobi was just munching on in a box.

Said person just walked into the kitchen. "If you find any smudge marks on the cake it wasn't me, okay?"

Kakazu looked at the cake puzzled and immediately found out what the Uchiha was talking about. "Tobi! I'm going to kill you!"

"Come on!" Konan yelled grabbing a few bottles of sake for the celebration that would come after the special occasion.

Finally everyone got everything they needed and rushed out of the Akatsuki's hideout with their hands full of various things. The sun was still high in the sky and the birds chirped lovely songs as everyone ran through the forest to the meeting place. When they got there Itachi was already there with Kaido next to him with a blindfold over her eyes. He put his finger to his lips to shush everyone as they made a little noisy entrance.

"Tobi? Is that you?" Kaido asked hearing Tobi giggle. "Okay. What's going on?" Every Akatsuki member couldn't help but snicker as Kaido stood in front of them with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. And then Itachi knelt on one knee. He carefully tugged off the blindfold and as soon as Kaido saw him on one knee she put her hands to her mouth. "I-Itachi? What're you doing?"

Itachi took a deep breath. "Tsukino Kaido, will you marry me?"

Kaido looked to everyone who anxiously waited for her answer. She scoffed. "Is he serious?" They nodded their heads. "This guy wants to marry me? A crazy lunatic girl who can't do anything for herself? Like anyone would wa-"

She was cut off when Itachi pulled her close and crashed his gentle lips to hers. Immediately everyone cheered for the young couple before them and streamers along with silly string were flying in the air. Itachi pulled away from his fiancée. "I love you too."

Kaido chuckled. "I love to see that you're so sure I want to marry you."

"Why would you still be here if you didn't want to?"

Tobi jumped in between them. "Because she'd want to be with me of course!"

Kaido wrapped an arm around the masked shinobi's shoulders. "Yeah, Itachi! I would want to be with Tobi so we could watch scary movies together!"

"And of course she'd need to cook for us because we're all so hopeless," Deidara stated as he laid down a black blanket with a red cloud pattern just like the Akatsuki cloak. "Now come on! It's time to eat and celebrate!"

Zetsu popped out of the ground. "Did you get the picture, Deidara?"

The blonde showed the camera to the plant-like man. "Sure did. Look at Kaido's face! She looks so surprised."

"Uh… I'm sure you guys meant for everything to be perfect but why is there a huge chunk of the cake missing?" Kaido asked pointing to where it had been taken from.

Kakazu turned red with anger as Tobi hid behind Kaido. "Tobi! I told you not to eat the cake!"

"It was just a little piece," Tobi said while dodging Kakazu's punches. "Tell him Kaido! Tell him that he should stop!"

Kaido chuckled. "Oh come on Kakazu. Give him a break. He just wanted a little taste of the cake before everyone else got some." She lowered her voice a little. "Plus, we'll be watching a scary movie later so he'll get his punishment."

Kakazu smirked when Tobi went pale white. "What? I don't want to watch a scary movie, Kaido! You'll hold my hand right?" She laughed at his childish behaviour.

While everything went on Itachi simply stared at Kaido, quietly enjoying every minute with her. Konan gently smiled. "I told you she'd be okay, Itachi. As long as someone like you was by her side nothing could have happened."

Itachi picked up his plate with cake on it and smiled. "Nothing will _ever _happen. I'll make sure of it."

Kaido, who was cutting a piece of cake for Tobi, caught a glimpse of Itachi's staring eye and grinned. After handing the overjoyed Tobi his piece of cake she crawled over to the Uchiha and placed his arm over her shoulders. "What're you smiling about?"

He looked at her with deep ebony eyes. "It's nothing."

XoXoX

"Come on you guys! You're all going to miss it!" Deidara shouted already snapping pictures of the meteor shower.

All of the Akatsuki had planned out when Itachi would propose to Kaido so it would be on the night a meteor shower would happen. They hadn't told Kaido, who loved astronomy, about it though so it could be a surprise.

Itachi led a blindfolded Kaido to the edge of the hill they were watching the meteor shower from, the rest of the Akatsuki already there. "Where are you taking me? Are you leading me off the kill we're on?"

Her, now new fiancée, took offense to her thinking he would lead her off a hill. "Of course I'm not!"

She laughed a little. "I was just joking, Itachi!" She turned and felt for his lips. "I know you wouldn't lead me off a hill."

Not bale to resist Itachi pressed his lips to hers and together they shared a passionate kiss. Just when he was allowed entrance into her mouth Tobi ran into them both and pushed them to the edge of the cliff.

"Stop kissing and open your eyes!" He shouted quickly untying the blindfold from her eyes.

She didn't know why but tears began to fill her eyes as soon as she saw the brilliant lights falling from the heavens. "I-It's so… beautiful," she cried out falling to her knees, endless rivers of tears dripping from her eyes.

Immediately Itachi and everyone crowded around her. "Is something wrong?" He questioned opening his arms to hold her.

Without hesitation she jumped into his arms and cried into his chest. "Nothing is wrong," she said, her voice cracking because she was crying so much. "Everything is so… perfect. It's just… it's just… I wish Mother and Brother were here too. They would be so happy."

Finally realizing why she had all of a sudden broken down Itachi tenderly smiled. "It's okay," he gently cooed kissing the top of her head. "I'm sure they're still here, forever watching over you making sure no harm comes upon you."

Kisame knelt next them. "Yeah. Plus you've got us. And we'll never let anything happen to you." She looked up to them and they all smiled at her, smiles so serene you'd never guess they had killed thousands of people.

"And that's a promise of a lifetime."

* * *

**And that's the end! This is one of my more short stories but I hoped you still liked it. Just to let you guys know, there will probably be no sequel to this unless I think of something. But that's highly doubtful. :P So if you guys wanted one I'm sorry. If you guys can give me some really good ideas I might be able to make a sequel. And if you've read my other story 'Love Conquers All' and wondering if there will be a sequel I am happy to say that there will be. I still have to get more of it written so just bare with me. It should be up pretty soon. :D So I hope you guys liked it. Please review!**

**EmIkO-cHaN ^/-\^ (/.0)**


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